Quadcopters 101 : Beginners’ Guide To Quadcopter Drones

A lot of folks just getting started with the hobby wonder what model would be the best for them. How would you describe a beginner? That would be anyone who is in the hobby for less than a few months. If that describes you, here’s a beginners guide to quadcopters that should help you.

Which model is most suitable for beginners?

This is one question that gets asked a lot. Many people who are just starting out want someone who they consider an expert to tell them model X is the best, go get it. Unfortunately, things are not that simple here. There is no single answer to this question. The answer depends on who’s asking the question. It depends on your skill level, knowledge, budget and interest.

If you’re very skilled and our handy at using tools – the typical DIY kind of person, may be you would want to assemble a quadcopter yourself. Maybe that will give you a lot more satisfaction than buying a ready to fly model.

If you are someone on a very tight budget, you’d want to maybe buy a model that is priced at around $ 20. Something this inexpensive can be at times really hard to fly, but then if you’re on a budget you’ll have not many alternatives. Really low priced quadcopters do not have much of the sophisticated electronics that are required to keep quadcopters stable in flight. But don’t despair. These are also a lot of fun to fly and they can teach you a lot about how to be a good quadcopter pilot.

On the other hand, if you have a lot of money to invest in this and you really serious about the hobby, you would want to buy something in the $ 700 pregnant, seven home $ 800 price range to start with. These models are easy to fly because they are electronically stabilised. They will have at least one camera and are great fun to fly.

Ideally, beginners should buy RC quadcopter models that are easy to fly, inexpensive and sturdy. You will be crashing a lot – so you’ll also want replacement parts to be easily available as well.

How much does a quadcopter with a good camera cost?

Quite a significant number of beginners seem to want to start with a Quadcopter that has a good camera. Now, if you’re a rank beginner camera is not something you should be focused on. You would want to cut your teeth on the really easy to fly model with four or six channels at the most. There’s really no point in buying a more expensive Quadcopter with a decent camera if you cannot even get it off the ground or keep it in stable flight for any length of time.

Many also want to know whether they can buy a Quadcopter with a good camera for less than $ 100. Well, that’s not possible. A model with a decent camera will cost at least $ 300-$ 500. You might be able to buy a used one online for around $250 or so.

What kind of multicopters are there?

There are quite a few variants. While quadcopters are the most popular and have 4 booms, you could also buy a tricopter (3 booms), a hexacopter (6 booms) or an octacopter (8 booms). There’s even a H variant quadcopter – as opposed to the more common X shape – but that’s rare.

What sized model should you buy?

In general, smaller models tend to be agile and harder to control. They lack the electronics that are required to stabilise a quadcopter in flight. These are not suitable for applications like aerial photography or even FPV.

Larger models tend to be a lot more stable. Mostly because these are more expensive and have sophisticated eletronics that keep them stable. And their bigger size also adds to the stability. These larger quadcopter is a very well suited for aerial videography and photography.

You would also want to see these quadcopter safety tips before getting started as well.

Should you buy a used quadcopter?

In some cases, it would make a lot of sense to buy a used quadcopter. You can buy a used DJI Phantom for a lot less than what the latest model is selling for. You’ll be able to hone your flying skills and by a more current model when you’re ready. But you’d want to make sure the used model is at least in working condition before you buy.